Like A Rainbow
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Amelia deals with some lingering grief for her first child after she and Link bring home two healthy babies.


Amelia and Link stepped through the door of her house and headed to the living room, setting the baby carriers down on the floor. Amelia grinned at their sleeping daughters. "Welcome home, Mollie Grace and Stella Emily Shepherd-Lincoln. Enjoy the silence because it's not going to last long."

Link suppressed laughter and shrugged when she glared at him. "What? This house is absolutely chaotic. I don't know why you didn't just find somewhere else to live."

"Because this is easier with my sisters and nieces and nephew. Yes, we're running out of space but we're fine for now," she replied.

Meredith came out of the kitchen with the kids in tow. Looking apologetic, she smiled at them. "I held them back as long as I could but they wanted to meet their cousins."

"It's okay. They're sleeping so please try to be quiet," Amelia told the kids.

"Wow," Zola whispered in awe as she gently grabbed one of Mollie's tiny fingers. "Which one is she, Aunt Amelia?"

"That's Mollie. Stella's in the purple onesie." Upon finding out they were having twins, Amelia and Link both vowed they would never dress them the same - they wanted the girls to be individuals.

Meredith unbuckled Stella's carrier and gently scooped the baby up. "You two definitely make some cute babies. Congratulations, again." She had just gotten out of surgery when Jo informed her Amelia was in labor and needed her so she ran to her sister's room and held her hand during delivery.

Amelia grinned. "That we do." She was sure she'd make several frantic phone calls to Charlotte since she was also a mother of multiples but they were handling this well so very well. Probably not for very long, though.

Link reacted within seconds when Mollie started crying and startled Zola. "I got her. It wasn't you," he assured the girl as he picked the baby up. "What's wrong, Miss Mollie? Do you need a diaper change? Or are you hungry?" He checked her diaper and then turned to Amelia. "Definitely hungry."

Amelia nodded and unbuttoned her shirt, smiling when he handed Mollie over. "Hello, sweetheart." The baby latched on and began breastfeeding, which she was thankful for."

"You hungry yet too, Stella?" Meredith questioned. The newborn continued to sleep so she began rocking her back and forth.

Link's gaze flickered back and forth between Amelia and the twins, still in disbelief that he was a father. They had prepared for this for months but it was still surreal. And he and Amelia were still taking things slow, despite the shock of a pregnancy so soon into their relationship. Neither of them wanted to fuck this up. His gaze strayed back to Meredith and sensing what he wanted, she handed Stella over to him. "I missed you," he murmured.

Meredith smiled at him and then turned back to the kids. "Okay, we need to leave Aunt Amelia and the babies alone. Let's go to our rooms and play, okay?"

Bailey and Ellis listened without complaints but Zola whined a bit. "But I want to stay, Mommy."

"I know you do but Aunt Amelia and Link just brought your cousins home. They're brand new and need peace and quiet. I promise you can play with them later. And they'll be a lot more fun once they're not sleeping and crying all the time." They were about to get a crash course in newborns and she'd feel bad for them if not for the fact that she was about to experience the same hell herself.

Zola sighed but got up and reluctantly followed her mother and siblings upstairs. Once Mollie finished eating, Amelia placed her in one of the bassinets. Link handed a now awake Stella over so she could also be fed. After she finished, Amelia set her down in the other bassinet. Link wrapped his arm around her as they watched their newborns continue to sleep. He kissed the side of her head. "I know we panicked at first when we first found out about your pregnancy but I'm glad these two shocked the hell out of us."

She snorted. "That's an understatement. But everything worked out well in the end and now we have two healthy, extremely loud babies."

This time, he laughed. "They are pretty loud, aren't they?"

"Yeah, and you're not going to be with us all the time so you lucked out," Amelia teased. They'd probably move in together eventually but that was still a little ways off yet.

"Yeah, I did." Link kissed her and they turned their attention back to Mollie and Stella, taking care of their needs when the babies required them.

* * *

Amelia startled awake around two in the morning when Mollie started crying (again) and sat at the edge of the bed to watch them some more after changing her diaper. She ran her hand over Mollie's head and sighed. "Mommy loves you both so much, girls." She sniffled and tried to hold back tears but the floodgates had been opened. "You have an older brother who would have loved you, and I'm sure he'd take care of you. I'm sad the three of you didn't get to meet." But she would forever be grateful that her pregnancy had gone off without a hitch and the girls came out without any health issues. She had called Addison in a panic several times, and fortunately, she had been able to talk her down. Addison had even flown out to Seattle herself to do an ultrasound to make sure, even though she didn't doubt Carina's expertise. "All three of my kids are amazing." She'd never forget her unicorn baby and would make sure the twins knew about him. "I love you and always will."

Link groaned under his breath and opened his eyes. "You okay?" he asked upon noticing the tear tracks on her face.

"Yeah, I will be." She'd grieve her son's loss a bit more but continue to celebrate Mollie and Stella's existence. And then she broke down again, unable to stop crying, so Link got up and hugged Amelia until she managed to calm down. They kissed before falling back asleep (not for long - the twins woke them up again an hour and a half later).

They have a lot of sleepless nights ahead of them but Amelia and Link are looking forward to it, to see what parenthood is like.


End file.
